The parents of the last girl still missing after July’s flash floods, which killed 25 campers and two counsellors at Camp Mystic in Texas, are opposing plans to reopen the camp.
Their call for it to remain closed follows officials’ announcement of plans to reopen part of the camp next year and build a memorial to the campers and counsellors who died.
The body of eight-year-old camper Cile Steward has not yet been recovered.
In a letter sent to Camp Mystic leadership on 24 September, Cile’s parents, CiCi and Will Steward, wrote that reopening the camp while they are still searching for her body is “unthinkable.”
“Recovery teams are still out there every day, scouring the river — your backyard — risking their own safety to bring her home to us. Yet, instead of recognising or highlighting that effort, you have not once mentioned her name or the fact that she is still missing,” they wrote.
The letter also criticised the lack of communication from Camp Mystic in the hours after the flooding and in its subsequent plans to reopen.
“Our families remain trapped in the deepest throes of grief, yet your communications treat our never-ending nightmare as little more than a brief pause before resuming business as usual,” the Stewards said.
Cile’s parents added: “Worse still, you are preparing to invite children to swim in the very river that may still hold our daughter’s body when you plan to ‘open your gates.’”
The Stewards have demanded that all discussions on reopening and memorials be halted until Cile’s body is recovered. Instead, they are asking camp leaders to “fully confront and account” for their role in the events and failures that led to their daughter’s death.
Their letter was sent in response to an email Camp Mystic issued on 22 September outlining its reopening and memorial plans.
Camp Mystic is owned by the wife and family members of Dick Eastland, who also died in the flooding while helping to evacuate campers.
In a statement to Alpena News, Camp Mystic said: “Our decision to partially reopen areas of the camp is informed by our faith and our commitment to continue the nearly century-long mission and ministry of Camp Mystic to provide a Christian camping experience for girls that allows them to grow physically, mentally, and spiritually.”